July 28th, 2015

I am running for a position to be your Council 44 F/O rep in the next election. I was asked by my fellow pilots to run for this position, something that I had never considered, as I have never held any position at ALPA before.


I want to run because I think that Delta Pilots are not being fairly compensated for the hard work and dedication that is required to do this job. I see how hard all of you work. This group of pilots is responsible for the amazing position that our airline is in today. We sacrificed for more than ten years and now the company wants to take all the money for themselves.

I have been asked what my plan is; I plan on continuing to show the Delta Pilots just how important to this operation that they are. Remember, this entire operation is based around you and I flying people to places all over the world.

Without all of you, there is no airline.

Take a look at this article: http://share.d-news.co/q9eo1mV

There is a pilot shortage! Low Pay and Too much time away from our families is the cause! New pilots are not entering this field because of the way we are treated. The people that I talk to outside of this industry are wondering why the company has its' hands around the neck of its' Gold Goose. You my fellow Pilots are the Golden Goose!

All of the people in this industry are tired and don't want to take it anymore. The SouthWest flight attendants, The Delta Pilots, and other carriers are saying no to this treatment. Why? Because the company offers us crumbs while putting out news briefs like this:


Delta’s board also approved a quarterly dividend of 13.5 cents per share under the airline’s current authorization to return more than $2.75 billion to shareholders by the end of 2016. The dividend will be paid on Aug. 18.

In 2013, Delta’s board initiated a quarterly dividend as part of its long-term shareholder return program. This is the ninth consecutive quarter that Delta has returned cash to shareholders through a dividend.

Pay no attention to the company giving Billions to those who don't have to fly multiple legs and back side of the clock, they are saying that the pilots don't deserve it!

And who do we have to defend us................................................ .................................................. ..ALPA.

Here is what the current MEC had to say when the majority of the pilots complained about the JV settlement:

As the AF/KLM/AZ grievance settlement distribution moves through Delta payroll processing, some questions have arisen over the amount of the grievance settlement, how the Association calculated the amount of damages, and the impact on pilot staffing. Specifically, there have been differing claims as to the amount of shortfall that occurred in the AF/KLM/AZ JV agreement. The purpose of this update is to clear up any misconceptions that may still exist.

So your union is saying " I don't care if you think that the settlement is inadequate, this is why you are wrong."

What would you expect from a union that provides tremendous wealth for those members that make it to national only to work against the working class employees like us.

Examples:

1. The Moak group...............................Need I say more?

2. Randy Babbit.....................Now Senior VP of Labor Relations at SouthWest Airlines.

This was on the Delta Net by the way:
Southwest Airlines flight attendants Friday overwhelmingly voted down a tentative agreement which spelled out a mix of yearly pay increases and bonuses as well as targeted work rule changes to support the carrier’s recent start of international operations.

The agreement was rejected by a 9,916 to 1,446 vote, meaning seven of every eight flight attendants who voted rejected the deal.

The Transport Workers Union, which represents more than 13,500 flight attendants at Southwest, began negotiating with the airline two years ago. This was the first tentative agreement both Southwest and former AirTran Airways cabin crews had an opportunity to vote on since the 2011 merger.

Randy Babbit, Southwest’s senior vice president of labor relations told the Dallas Morning News the company was “disappointed that it [the tentative agreement] didn’t pass.”

Flight attendants at Southwest haven’t received a pay increase since 2011 and have continued to pay monthly union dues during the protracted negotiating process. For the same period, frontline Delta employees, including flight attendants, have seen wages increase by 16 percent.

The failure to ratify the flight attendant tentative agreement Friday leaves most of Southwest’s major work groups without a new contract after years of negotiations. Ramp workers at the airline, who picketed at Southwest’s annual meeting, have been in negotiations for four years, with pilots and maintenance technicians nearing three years without a renewed contract.

I can't tell you that I can fix any of this! I can't tell you that everyone will be happy with what I will do if elected. I can tell you that it only took me 30 minutes to research the things that I am forwarding to you in this email. It is plain to see that we have made this company wealthy beyond their wildest dreams .Now, instead of rewarding you for your hard work, they want to take more from you and make you work harder and longer for the problem they created.

If I am your F/O rep and a voting member of the MEC, the only thing that I can tell you is that I will vote no to anything that does not work toward restoring this profession!

The rest I will figure out when I get there, with the help of the line pilots around me!

Thank You,

Jimmy Johnson
7ER ATL